Strange Fruit

Today the family went to a pumpkin patch/apple orchard. While browsing through the store for caramel apples, I saw that they were selling tubs of persimmon pulp. I've been curious about persimmons for awhile now, from an Eating the Alphabet book and various roadside farm stands advertising it. And this season the local ice cream parlor has made homemade persimmon ice cream, intriguing me further. So I bought a tub of the pulp, and made persimmon pudding for tonight's dessert. It was incredible, I can't believe I'd been missing this delicacy my whole life. Go get some diaspyros virginiana, "food of the gods," and enjoy this Thanksgiving treat now.